For those that like to test the fuel gauge accuracy...

[Trustable]

Running any diesel dry is a big no no as you are faced with a PITA fuel bleeding process to get all the air out and a solid slug of diesel back to the pump and injectors. It usually wasn't a tragedy with the old style in-line injector pumps as they had their own lubrication systems. Bosch "rotary" style pumps and old style mechanical injectors might or might not be damaged they did rely on diesel for both cooling and lubrication but had sloppier tolerances than modern HP common rail pumps and injectors.
A common rail pump run dry is almost certainly scrap either immediately or soon after. When it dies it will send metal filings on to the injectors and kill them too, and because modern HP injectors have a high bypass rate (use diesel for cooling) the injectors will then send filings back to the tank as well which will kill your in tank pump.

Thanks for the explanation. I never knew why I just heard some horror stories! Granted mine is only 25hp but I’m sure it would not be cheap by the sounds of it.

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[Cabose-1]

The lowest I've gone is when the 25 mile remaining goes on...just curious...is there any further warnings after the 25 miles warning?

It will give you a warning at 15, then 10 then 5. I went to 0. I have a post with pics here somewhere on the forum of the stages it goes through. And the pics saying zero. Then i filled up with 18.6 gallons. Or 18.8? I have pics here on the forum of it somewhere.

 

[twk]

I've gotten down to 25 miles, then filled up with 18 gallons. on a tank that supposedly holds 18.8, so I don't know how accurate the guage is.

Just for comparison, this is from my mustang a few years ago.
After ignoring the warnings a couple of times, several times, A LOT, and knowing I was "almost" home, I stopped for gas about 2 miles from my driveway. I won't do that again.
It's pretty funny now!
One mile to Empty, and it took a little over 15 gallons. A mustang has a16 gallon tank, plus or minus. I had an easy 20 more miles to go! Or I was walking home. I like that safety margin.

 

[Trustable]

Just for comparison, this is from my mustang a few years ago.
After ignoring the warnings a couple of times, several times, A LOT, and knowing I was "almost" home, I stopped for gas about 2 miles from my driveway. I won't do that again.
It's pretty funny now!
One mile to Empty, and it took a little over 15 gallons. A mustang has a16 gallon tank, plus or minus. I had an easy 20 more miles to go! Or I was walking home. I like that safety margin.

Look at that price wow. I miss that lol.

 

[twk]

Look at that price wow. I miss that lol.

Yeah, I guess that was quite a few years ago.

 

[UncleWillie]

oof. That is a tough lesson. My first truck ('77 F-100) had a gas gauge with a needle that danced around like a wacky inflatable tube man. I also drove old diesels that had fuel pumps that worked overtime when fuel was low, leading to burning them up. At a young age, I learned that when I get to 1/4 tank, you fill up. That has stuck with me over the years (my wife and friends give me hell about it).

Bringing this back to the original question. Most times, I never put in more that 12-13 gallons. Which always surprised me. I've let the low fuel light come on a couple of times when interstate cruising long distances between exits, but I still never saw more that 14 gallons even go in... wierd.

 

[ccasanova22]

I've tested this out a few times (again, not trying to make a habit of it) and my truck consistently leaves at least 1.25-2 gallons when "0" is shown on the dash. That leaves around 23-35 miles before it's running on fumes, and that seems like plenty. Most times "0" shows up and I'll put 18-18.7 gal in the tank, so I know there's at least 20 miles remaining.

 

[5thranger]

As the title suggests, if you like to see just how accurate your fuel gauge is or see how much further you can go after the low fuel light comes on, I'd recommend you don't. I returned home from work one evening and the fuel light had illuminated more than 50 miles prior to returning home. I was literally on fumes as a pulled into the driveway but as I live 300ft from a fuel station, I wasn't worried. Next day, the truck started normally and I roll into the fuel station. As I'm pulling around the pumps, the truck dies but I coast to a stop right in front of my pump. I'm thinking "cool...this never happens!". So, I top off the tank, start the truck....it runs for about 3 seconds and dies. I figure there's no fuel in the line so I cycle the key about 5 times to pressurize the line with fuel. Try to start the truck...no dice. It won't start at all. A quick check of the FP relay yields no success......still won't start. Getting to the point.....a $225 tow to the dealership and a new low pressure fuel pump later, I've learned a valuable lesson.....when the fuel light comes on, put fuel in the tank. Turns out the fuel pump is pulling enough current that it needs cooled by the fuel running through it. No fuel = overheated pump motor = dead pump. Thankfully, my dealership covered all this under warranty which, incidentally, ran out about 12,000 miles ago so, it could've been much worse financially.

First thing to address is, who in the hell is this dealership! Most owners have trouble getting things repaired like a transmission that clearly has failed.

 

[Kemo Sabe]

As the title suggests, if you like to see just how accurate your fuel gauge is or see how much further you can go after the low fuel light comes on, I'd recommend you don't. I returned home from work one evening and the fuel light had illuminated more than 50 miles prior to returning home. I was literally on fumes as a pulled into the driveway but as I live 300ft from a fuel station, I wasn't worried. Next day, the truck started normally and I roll into the fuel station. As I'm pulling around the pumps, the truck dies but I coast to a stop right in front of my pump. I'm thinking "cool...this never happens!". So, I top off the tank, start the truck....it runs for about 3 seconds and dies. I figure there's no fuel in the line so I cycle the key about 5 times to pressurize the line with fuel. Try to start the truck...no dice. It won't start at all. A quick check of the FP relay yields no success......still won't start. Getting to the point.....a $225 tow to the dealership and a new low pressure fuel pump later, I've learned a valuable lesson.....when the fuel light comes on, put fuel in the tank. Turns out the fuel pump is pulling enough current that it needs cooled by the fuel running through it. No fuel = overheated pump motor = dead pump. Thankfully, my dealership covered all this under warranty which, incidentally, ran out about 12,000 miles ago so, it could've been much worse financially.

I fill mine at half a tank. That’s just the west I’ve always filled. Works for me.

 

[Awg9Tech]

As I'm pulling around the pumps, the truck dies but I coast to a stop right in front of my pump.

So, the pump was without fuel/coolant for what, 20 seconds?

If that’s the margin of failure for the fuel pump, you’d better believe I’d want to have that covered under warranty.

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